Seunghyun took off his sunshades and laid them on the table.  “Mianhae… traffic,” he explained as he sat down in an empty chair near the head of the table. He raised his right hand and brushed an imaginary strand of hair back into place.

Jiyong and Daesung shared a smile.  Their hyung was always late. “It’s alright.  We went ahead and ordered the usual,” said Jiyong.  It was late Saturday evening. The boys were at a local barbecue restaurant celebrating Seungri’s birthday.  There were a few back-up dancers and make-up artists invited, along with their managers. It was the first stop on Seungri’s list of activities for the night.

“Hyung! I’m trending! I’m trending!” exclaimed Seungri, his eyes full of excitement as he pointed to his phone.

“Mwuh?” Seunghyun glanced over at the maknae, a half-grin on his face.  He didn’t know what the hell Seungri was talking about. “Did you win the lottery?”

“Aniyo…” Seungri scoffed.  “I’m trending! Look,” he moved his phone over for Seunghyun to see. “See that? I’m number one! They’re wishing me happy birthday.” He scrolled through his mentions and stopped on one.  “Omo… Guiyuhwoon yuhja.” His eyes became big and round as he ogled a fan girl’s profile picture.

Seunghyun quirked an eyebrow towards Jiyong in question. 

Jiyong rolled his eyes and sighed. “He’s been like that all day.”

“So cute… so, so cute,” Seungri whispered under his breath, as he checked out more of his mentions on Twitter.

Seunghyun smirked and glanced around. “Where’s Youngbae?”

Jiyong looked up from the napkin he was writing on and replied, “He said he had something pressing to do.” He shared a look with Daesung and then looked away.

“He never misses barbecue,” Seunghyun remarked. “Is he going to the club later tonight?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask him,” replied Jiyong. He avoided Seunghyun’s gaze, continuing to jot on the napkin.

Seunghyun looked over at Daesung.  “What about you?  Did you talk to him today?”

“Aniyo, he didn’t say anything to me,” Daesung quietly replied.  In fact, Youngbae hadn’t left his room all day. He looked meekly away from his hyung’s piercing gaze.

Seunghyun looked between the two of them, noticing their odd behavior.  Seungri was still glued to his phone, a foolish grin on his face, too obsessed with the attention he was receiving from the social media world.  “Well, I guess I’ll just call him myself.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his smart phone.

Jiyong laid his hand on top of Seunghyun’s phone.  “I think he just wants to be left alone tonight.”

“Wae?” Seunghyun commanded, his eyes turning serious. “Something you’re not telling me?”

“Ani…,” Jiyong said, sliding his hand down his face.  He was frustrated with the whole situation.  He raised his tired eyes and replied, “I have an idea of what’s going on, but he won’t talk to me.”

“What do you mean?” asked Seunghyun.  “Family problems?”

“Ani…,” Jiyong replied.  “Believe it or not, I think he’s having girl problems.”

“Girl problems? With who...” Seunghyun cut off when he realized who the girl might be.  “Problems already? They haven’t even been on a second date!” He stared at them with an incredulous grin on his face.  “Surely, his game can’t be that bad?”

Jiyong half-laughed.  “Nah, I don’t think it’s that.  I mean, that whole day after their date he was on cloud nine, jumping around... off the wall.”  Jiyong shook his head, “Ani… I don’t think the date had anything to do with his change in behavior lately.”

“Oh, you mean him acting all serious the other day?” asked Seunghyun.

“It’s more than that hyung,” chimed in Daesung.  “I don’t even think he came out of his room all day today.  It’s like… someone died.” He winced internally, recalling a time he acted that same way. A dark moment in his life.

“Are you sure it’s that?  I mean, it could be something else.”

“I’m sure,” Jiyong replied.  “I checked his phone yesterday.”

Seunghyun raised an eyebrow.

“There was a message from Amina, but I don’t think he ever responded.” Jiyong recalled the words in his mind. “I think he must have shut off communication with her.  I just don’t know why.” He his furrowed eyebrows in thought.

“Have you asked him about it?”

“Neh…,” replied Jiyong and recalled the moment hours before…

Flashback

A knock on the door.

"Youngbae-ah?"

No sound.

"Youngbae-ah?" repeated Jiyong, as he gently opened the bedroom door. He found Youngbae, sprawled on his back across the bed. Jiyong switched on the light overhead. "Yah, you coming with us to dinner or what?"

Youngbae removed his forearm off his eyes, blinking several times while his eyes adjusted to the bright light.  He squinted at his intruder.  "What time is it?" he asked, slowly sitting up.

"It's almost nine," replied Jiyong.  He looked at his friend from head to toe.  Youngbae was still dressed in his workout clothes from earlier in the day, his sneakers still on.  That in itself was alarming to Jiyong.  Youngbae usually had a routine after his workouts and sleeping straight afterwards was not one of them.  "You coming with us?" Jiyong asked once more.

Youngbae looked around the room, a little sluggish to respond.  His mouth felt dry and his stomach felt in knots.  He then remembered it was because he hadn't drank or eaten anything all day.  He shook his head to clear it.  "Ah... ani," he replied.  "I don't think I'll be joining you guys tonight." He slowly stood up, heading towards his closet.

Jiyong followed after him.  "Wae?"

Youngbae turned around, immediately seeing the concern in Jiyong's eyes.  "Nothing.  I just don't feel up to it tonight."

"Is it because of Amina?"

Surprise registered in Youngbae's face.  "Ani...," he lied. "I just don't feel like hanging out tonight.  I have some things I need to work on." He grabbed a fresh towel and brushed passed Jiyong. 

"Then why haven't you responded to her text message?"

Youngbae stopped mid-stride at Jiyong's comment.  He wasn't surprised that Jiyong had unlocked his phone, but tonight it just rubbed him the wrong way. He turned around and narrowed his eyes at his friend.  "I told you, this has nothing to do with her.  I just don't want to go out tonight." He switched his weight to his left foot. "You know I hardly ever go out anyways.  Why is tonight any different?"

"Because it's Seungri's birthday!" exclaimed Jiyong, suddenly thankful that he could use the maknae as an excuse.  "Because you've been moping around the dorm for the past three days."

Youngbae scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Because I know you too well to know that you're lying," explained Jiyong.  "If you don't tell me what's going on, I'm going to call her myself."

Youngbae smirked. "And then what?" he challenged.  Youngbae shook his head slightly and whipped the towel around his neck, hanging onto the ends with each hand.  "There is nothing that would make me want to talk to her again," he bitterly replied.  Youngbae walked off, heading towards the bathroom.

Jiyong stared at the closed door, a dazed look on his face. 

End Flashback

"So you really think something happened between the two of them that's causing him to act this way?" asked Seunghyun.

"There's no other explanation," replied Jiyong. Their food arrived and they busied themselves cooking the meal.  "He told me that he didn't want to ever speak to her again." He looked over at Daesung for confirmation.

"Neh... that's what I overheard from my room," replied Daesung. "I've never heard him utter those types of words before.  I mean, what could she have done that would not make him want to talk to her anymore?"

"I don't know," replied Jiyong.  "Whatever it is, it must be serious.  Youngbae's not the type of person to hold grudges."

"So what's he doing right now?" asked Seunghyun. "What's so important?"

"Honestly," said Jiyong, "I don't think he's doing anything.  Everyone at the studio is either with family or out tonight with us."

"So he's probably at the dorm or in his room?" guessed Seunghyun.

"Sleeping," said Daesung, remembering.

They both turned to look at him. "More sleeping?" asked Jiyong.  "But he just woke up from a long nap, if I recall.  I mean, damn, he fell straight to sleep after the gym.... and that was like eight hours ago!"

"Neh... but I remember when I was really depressed, I slept a lot," replied Daesung.  He hung his head a little bit, melancholy.

"You think he's depressed?" asked Seunghyun.

Daesung shrugged his shoulder slightly.

"Call him up," ordered Seunghyun to Jiyong.  "If he's sleeping, we need to bring his out."

Jiyong looked between the two of them, their eyes telling him it was the right thing to do.  "Alright," he said and pulled out his smart phone. The call rang several times, before it was finally picked up. 

"Yoboseyo?" came the gritty reply.

"Youngbae?"

"Neh..."

"Are you sleeping?" asked Jiyong, earning him a snicker from Seunghyun. 

"Neh..."

Jiyong nodded his head at the others. He took a deep breath and started, "Well, get dressed.  We're coming to get you."

"Ani... I told you I'm not in the mood to hang out tonight."

"Look, there's going to be PR all over this and if they see all of us there but not you, they're going to ask questions," he lied.  Daesung nodded his head vigorously, liking Jiyong's clever idea.

Youngbae paused on the other end. "Alright, I'll be ready."

Jiyong gave a thumbs up to his audience. "Okay.  See you in an hour." He hung up the phone.  "I guess we got ourselves another victim tonight." He glanced over at Seungri, still scrolling through his phone.  "Yah!  Is it your birthday or what?" He raised his bottle of beer in Seungri's direction. "Speech!"

"Mimi... please tell me you forgive me," pleaded Hanna on the other line. "I wouldn't have kept it away from you, but your dad..."

Amina smiled sadly.  "I forgive you Hanna.  But if you ever keep something like this from me again, I swear..."

"I promise! I promise!" swore Hanna.

Amina move the phone to her other ear as she dug through the property manager's toolbox in search for some nails.  She had yet to hang the picture she and Youngbae bought.  What better night, than tonight, when she had nothing better to do. The clanking sound attracted Hanna's attention.

"What in the world are you doing?"

"I'm trying to hang up some canvas prints."

"And then what are you going to do?"

"Nothing... probably read."

"Ugh... boring!"

Amina smiled into the phone.  "Well, what do you propose I do?"

"Come out with us!"

"Us?"

"Neh... me and some of the girls in the office are heading out for some karaoke. Come with us!"

Amina sighed.  She really wasn't in the mood to hang out with a group of people tonight.  "I don't know..."

"Oh come on... when's the last time you went out?"

Amina remembered the last time she went out.  The bittersweet memories came rushing back to her, but she stomped them down.  "You know what," Amina shoved the hammer back in to toolbox and snapped it shut.  She was done waiting for him. "I'll join you guys. Where at?"

Hanna squealed on the other end of the line.  "Okay, we're meeting at..."

The boys exited the van and headed into their usual night club hangout, the deep vibration of the bass drowning out any chance of conversation.  As usual for the weekends, the club was packed with bodies swaying to the sounds of the latest hip hop tracks.  The members immediately got free entrance and were led upstairs to their private VIP room.  Immediately, several bottles of champagne and hard liquor were poured as they mingled with the rest of their entourage, slighting some on-lookers, keeping their circle tight.  Seungri ventured out and mingled with a few female guests in the VIP lounge next to theirs, while the rest of the guys sat down on the couch, passing drinks.

Youngbae closed his eyes and rested the back of his neck against the couch.  He sat in the corner of the lounge, the darkness of the room concealing him from everyone's view.  "Hyung!" he heard Daesung yell.  Youngbae opened one eye, slightly amused to see such an animated Daesung holding a shot of tequila in his direction. He shook his head.

"C'mon hyung!" urged Daesung. He moved closer to Youngbae.  "I'm drinking tonight, so that means you have to drink as well."  He passed the shot in Youngbae's direction and clinked their small glasses.  "Hana.. dul," Daesung counted, before pouring the liquor down his mouth.  He cringed at the taste.

Youngbae smiled, not used to seeing Daesung try so hard to have fun.  He nodded slightly at Daesung before downing his own glass, the liquid burning a fire trail down his throat and settling uneasy on his empty stomach.  Someone passed him a bottle of beer, which he quickly took a swig of to chase down the burning sensation.

"We're going to get you ed up tonight," promised Seunghyun, grinning.

Youngbae half-grinned, shaking his head.

"C'mon... you can't mope here too," replied Seunghyun.  "Seriously, you barely know the girl.  Don't tell me she got you hooked like that now." He looked at Youngbae, an eyebrow quirked, challenging him to argue otherwise.

Youngbae glanced past Seunghyun, towards Jiyong who was busy talking to one of the YG back-up dancers.  He didn't know how much Jiyong told the others, but given their short conversation, Youngbae knew that most of what Seunghyun was referring to were deduced based upon his behavior. He glanced back at Seunghyun, who was waiting for his reply.  There was one thing that hyung got right.  He barely knew the girl.

"Alright, pour me another shot," replied Youngbae, down another draw of beer.

"That's what I'm talking about!" exclaimed Seunghyun, pouring another set of rounds for them. 

The night progressed as fast as it started.  The pouring of liquor came in two-folds, three-folds, until Youngbae felt like his head was spinning from their efforts.  But it definitely made him forget... for a little while.  Sometimes he would view the crowd from where they stood above and a girl would catch his eye.  Maybe it was the way she styled her hair, or the way she turned her head.  He didn't know. But somehow, they all reminded him of her.  He blinked his eyes and took another swallow of beer.

Youngbae watched Seungri take off his blazer and swing it madly around his head, urging on the crowd below.  "Yeah, everyone! It's my birthday! Whooo---!" the maknae yelled, much to the amusement of his elders.

"Someone better get him away from that rail before he falls over," said Seunghyun.

Jiyong smirked. "He needs a change of scenery. Youngbae - why don't we take him down to the floor?"

"Alright," replied Youngbae, his mind fuzzy.  He needed to get away from all the liquor and sober up a little. He glanced over at Daesung, who was dancing in the corner with fellow YG dancers. "You staying?" He eyed Seunghyun.

"Of course," replied Seunghyun.  "Someone's got to keep the liquor warm."

Youngbae grinned, before following Jiyong and Seungri down to the main dance floor.  Immediately when they hit the floor, they drew the attention of those around them.  So much so, that they had to head towards the DJ area to gain some space.  The music kept thumping and the crowd kept up, swaying and popping with every note.  A waiter came by with a tray of more shots for the boys.  Youngbae swallowed hard.  Even down here, he couldn't get away from it.  He nodded his thanks and downed one.

The music kept playing as they energetically danced in rhythm, vibing with the song choices the DJ picked.  Youngbae glanced around and saw her face in the crowd.  He closed his eyes and looked away, reaching out towards the tray of shots and emptying one.  He looked up and she was gone... for now.  But a few moments later, she would reappear again, forcing him to down another shot.  Then another. Then another. "Yah, that's enough for you tonight," he faintly heard Jiyong warn him.  But Youngbae brushed it off and kept bobbing his head with the music, trying to drown her out of his memories.  He felt a sheen of sweat underneath his shirt, but he didn't care.  He just wanted to get rid of her memory tonight.

Jiyong looked over at Youngbae, a worried concern in his eyes.  Youngbae was so far drunk but his body wouldn't stop.  He kept going and going, his body honed to withstand such punishment.  Jiyong could see that his friend was pushing it over the edge. Tonight, they had gone too far.  They shouldn't have encouraged him to drink away his misery like this.  This wasn't Youngbae's method of dealing with whatever problem he had.  This was his and Seunghyun's idea.  Jiyong knew Youngbae would regret it the following morning.  This had to stop now.

"Seungri!" Jiyong yelled over the loud speakers.  He pulled the maknae aside, behind the DJ area where a small pocket of air allowed him to speak in a normal tone. "I need you to call Amina and tell her to come here now."

"Huh?" Seungri asked.

"Call Amina and tell her to come here now."

"Wae?"

"Just do it!"

Seungri looked at Jiyong, still uncertain of the request. He pulled out his cell phone and tapped on her number, pulling his phone back up to his ear.  

"Yoboseyo?" came the faint reply.

"Amina-shi!" yelled Seungri.  "It's me, Seungri... but you probably already knew that." He laughed at his own joke, but sobered quickly when he met Jiyong's death stare.

"What can I help you with?" came the polite reply.

"I... I need you to come down here to NB."

"Is something wrong?"

"Ani... I..." Seungri was about to continue when his phone was yanked away.

"Look, if you give a damn about Youngbae, you will show up here tonight.  If you don't, then do him a favor and don't ever contact him again!" Jiyong ended the call and gave it back to a wild-eye Seungri.

"Hyung!" Seungri cried.  "How could you do that?"

Amina stared at her phone, the other end of the line cut off.  She felt the blood drain from her face as thoughts of the worst kinds of scenarios ran through her mind. Was he hurt? Injured? She didn't know. 

"Amina-ah," Hanna cautiously asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Mianhae unnie," Amina replied, quickly grabbing her wristlet.  "I have an emergency come up." She thought of the place she was heading to next and was thankful she was dressed appropriately.  "Could you do me a favor?" Hanna looked at her worriedly and nodded. "Could you keep my jacket for me? I don't think they're going to let me in with it." At Hanna's confused expression, Amina apologized again and bowed to the rest of Hanna's friends before leaving the karaoke bar. 

Amina quickly ran out into the street, signaling a taxi cab.  She gave instructions to the driver when she heard her phone vibrate inside her purse.  It was from Seungri. "Yoboseyo?" asked a breathless Amina, her worry combined with the freezing weather affecting her system.

"Mianhae noona," Seungri yelled into the phone. "It wasn't me that hung up on you."

"I know." She couldn't help the panic that rose in her voice.  "Tell me... what's going on with him?"

"Oh," Seungri replied.  "You'll see when you get here. Are you almost here?"

"I'm about two blocks away."

"Good. I'll greet you at the door."

Amina reached NB & Harlem within a matter of minutes, but the crowd was thick with people running across the street who were trying to enter different parts of the club. "NB-1, NB-2, or Harlem?" asked the taxi cab driver.

She had no idea.  "It's okay," she relied.  "Just drop me off here, is fine." She paid the driver the cab fare and stood on the sidewalk, unsure of which way to go.  She texted Seungri for the building information. 

NB-2.

Amina headed towards the direction that Seungri pointed out, her feet walking faster as she spied Seungri standing near the bouncer at the front entrance.

Seungri nodded at the bouncer and they allowed her in, much to the groans and protests of the other visitors waiting in line outside.  "Mianhae guys," Seungri apologized with a grin on his face, "she's with me.  I'll see you inside, okay?" He bowed briefly to them before following Amina.

Amina couldn't hide her annoyance with Seungri as he finished up his goodbyes to his audience.  "Seungri!  Please... tell me what's going on?  Where is he?"

Seungri saw the worry in her eyes and immediately felt guilty.  "Follow me," he said, pulling her along through the crowd.  He found Jiyong leaning against the bar, sipping on a concoction, looking in the crowd.

"Hyung!" shouted Seungri, drawing Jiyong's attention.  Jiyong immediately straightened when he saw Amina, his eyes becoming angry. 

"So you did decide to show up," he smirked, his tolerance level pushed to the limit.

Amina continued to look at him in confusion.  "What happened?  Where is he?"

Jiyong nodded his head towards the crowd. Amina's eyes tried to follow his direction, but the room was too dark, the crowd too much.  She glanced around again and paused on a familiar figure.  He had his signature StampdLA cap on with his black attire.  He was leaning heavily against another girl, their bodies swaying to the music. 

She felt the fresh sting of tears form in her eyes.  She directed her anger towards Jiyong. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Jiyong pushed off the counter, standing to face her. "I don't know what the hell is going on between you two, but it needs to be hashed out tonight."  He pointed towards Youngbae's direction.  "You see him there?  He's gone... he's drank more than I've ever known him to drink," his voice slurred, the alcohol also pulling him under.  "And it's all your damn fault."

Amina stared at him, shocked by his statement.  "How is it my fault?" she cried.  "He won't even talk to me anymore, let alone see me!" She felt her lips quiver with raw emotion. 

Jiyong could see that she was being honest with him.  Some of the anger left him.  "I don't know... all I know is that he hasn't been the same these past few days."  He looked up and closed his eyes, the room suddenly rotating.  He cleared his vision and started again.  "Look, you guys need to talk. I'll bring him over."  He started to pull away, but Amina grabbed his arm.

"Don't," she said.  "Don't bother. Don't do anything. I'm leaving."

Jiyong looked hard at her.  "So it's like that?"

Amina nodded.

Jiyong paused, wanting to say more, but stopped.  He nodded his head and walked towards the staircase leading to the VIP lounge.

Amina let out a shaky breath, the last few moments feeding a rush of adrenaline through her veins.  She needed to calm down before she upset herself.  She watched the bartender fix up drinks for a few passersby.  Might as well.  She turned around and motioned for the next available bartender to take her order. She hoped a drink would be able to take off the edge she felt.

"Hey noona," came a drunken voice to her right.  She glanced over and noticed a young man in his early twenties, fiddling with his leather jacket with a drink in his hand.  "Let me buy you a drink."

"Aniyo," Amina replied.  "I just ordered my drink, but kamsahamnida." She bowed politely.

"Look at you," he said, "all prim and proper." He reached out and touched a stand of her hair, causing her to flinch back a bit. "C'mon, just one drink."

Amina shook her head slightly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.  "Aniyo... I really can't."  She turned away from him, hoping he would get the message.  She peered down the bar, wishing they would hurry up soon so she could down it and leave. She felt him slide up behind her, brushing the hair away from her nape.  She felt her skin crawl.

"Are you here with anyone tonight?" he slurred.

Amina pulled her head away from him and stepped forward, crashing into a familiar warm hard body, his scent filling her senses.

"She's with me," a deep reply came overhead, his arm automatically wrapping around her.